Pierogies

Like many of the world's great comfort foods, pierogies take bit of time and effort to prepare, but as with most things, the extra effort pays off. The flavors of this dish are simple, but like most of the foods that come out of grandmothers' kitchens the sum is more than its parts. When choosing garnishes for pierogies I recommend having them all on hand so you can pick and choose with each bite.

Pierogies

About This Recipe

Yield:

makes 48 pierogies

Active time:

1 hour

Total time:

2 hours 30 minutes

Rated:

Ingredients

Dough:

3 cups all-purpose flour

large pinch of salt

1 cup water

1 large egg, beaten

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Filling:

2 large Russet potatoes

1 1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar

Kosher salt and cracked black pepper

Sour cream (optional)

Bacon, cooked crisp (optional)

1 sliced onion fried in 1 tablespoon butter (optional)

finely sliced scallions (optional)

Procedures

1

To make dough: Place flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add water, egg and vegetable oil and mix, slowly incorporating flour until soft dough forms. Turn soft dough out onto floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 1 hour.

2

To make filling: Peel potatoes and cut into 1 inch pieces. Boil in salted water until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain potatoes and place in a large bowl and mash with a potato masher or fork, slowly adding grated cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3

Assemble pierogies: Divide dough in half, reserving other half under a kitchen towel. Divide halved dough into 24 evenly sized pieces. Roll each piece into a round about 1/8-inch thick. Wet edges of dough and place a rounded teaspoon worth of filling in center of round. Close dough around filling creating a semicircle sealing edges with fingers. Repeat with all remaining dough (there may be some filling left).

4

Boil a large pot of water, and working in batches, cook pierogies until they rise to the top of the boiling water. Serve with any or all of the optional garnishes and copious amounts of cold beer.

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About the Author

After finishing my degree from the University of Toronto in Studio Art and English I moved to Boston to complete my MA in the Gastronomy program at Boston University and a culinary diploma from The Cambridge Culinary School of Arts. My husband and I operate a drum and bass record store, and have two cats, Rita and Sheryl. You can find me posting weekly here on SE in my two columns, British Bites and Sunday Brunch, or every once in a while in the Boston Globe.

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